Air India takes delivery of its first line fit Dreamliner in over eight years

Tata Group-owned Air India has taken delivery of the first Boeing 787-9 aircraft after the airline was privatised nearly four years ago.

This is also the first line fit or custom-made Dreamliner for the airline. Generally, line fit refers to an aircraft specifically made for a particular airline.

An official on Thursday said Air India completed the title transfer of the Dreamliner at the Boeing's Everett factory in Seattle on January 7. After inspections by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the aircraft, also the first line fit Dreamliner to be taken by Air India after being acquired by Tatas in January 2022, is expected to arrive in India in the next few days.

The new aircraft has a three class configuration -- economy, premium economy and business class seats. The last line fit Dreamliner that was acquired by Air India was in October 2017 when the carrier was under the government ownership.

According to the official, the latest aircraft is the airline's first wide-body and 52nd overall delivery from the 220 Boeing jets ordered in 2023. Air India Express has already taken delivery of 51 narrow-body Boeing 737-8s, including its first line fit plane that was inducted in late December.

After Tatas took over in January 2022, Air India placed orders for 350 Airbus and 220 Boeing planes. Out of the Airbus order, 6 A350s have already been inducted into the Air India fleet. Air India already has 26 B787-8s and 6 B787-9s of erstwhile Vistara which was merged with the airline.

Currently, Air India Group has over 300 planes, including 185 aircraft with Air India and the remaining ones with Air India Express. The official said a dozen more legacy Dreamliners with refreshed interiors are expected to return to service through 2026.

In November last year, Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said Air India Group expects to induct 26 wide-body and narrow-body planes, and operate 81 per cent of its international flights with upgraded aircraft by the end of 2026.